Tag Archive for energy efficiency

I have written on the Keystone Pipeline before and noted that it may not be as bad environmentally as proposed. However, there are certainly serious concerns that have been raised regarding this pipeline that need to be considered and of course, will now be ignored.

The Dakota Access Pipeline is a different situation. The fight is less over the pipeline, than its route. But as they say in the Whitehouse today, Dam the facts, full speed ahead.

When we see the impact of pipeline leaks, see the related article, why aren’t we more concerned about their routes?

As a last point, both pipelines have been touted as a means of increasing U.S. energy security.

That same claim was made about the Alaskan Oil Pipeline…yet, most of that oil was sold overseas for increased profit.

As we have continued to improve our energy efficiency, we have reduced our dependence on foreign oil. We have indeed increased output in the U.S. as well, but by reducing demand, we have a much greater impact on the need for more oil.

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy just released its 2016 report on the energy efficiency efforts in the states. Compared to our neighbors in NY, PA and DE, we came in dead last. In fact, we scored worse than last year!

The report is rather self explanatory. New Jersey has no one in the Governor’s office that really cares about energy efficiency and as such, the policies of the state reflect this lack of concern. The result, wasted energy, increased pollution of all types and a state that is less resilient to the effects of storms and natural disasters.

The good news is that when I deal with clients on energy issues and show them the very positive impacts of energy efficiency, there is a strong interest in making such improvements. This is spite of the lack of leadership.

PSE&G recently published a white paper on energy…I don’t want to spend much time going over the paper as it is simply too long for me to discuss in depth here. However, I did want to take a key set of statements from that paper as I see it…

“Moving Energy Efficiency from the Periphery to the Center

The fact is: Energy Efficiency is less costly and more impactful than renewables. Yet, while we set aggressive goals for renewables, we have only taken baby steps in the area of Energy Efficiency.

It is estimated that Energy Efficiency can deliver similar benefits as solar or wind at one-tenth the cost. We believe Energy Efficiency must be the centerpiece of a comprehensive effort to build a sustainable energy future in New Jersey.

First, let’s give credit where credit is due. To Unilever’s credit, their CEO Paul Polman is trying to turn a company around that one can equate to the turning of an aircraft carrier. It is a slow process.

Without going into the great detail of what the company is doing, the most important aspect of this article is that the company is moving in the right direction rather than the wrong direction. More importantly, Unilever is making its efforts a new normal rather than something that is deemed unusual.

Further, the company has noted that energy efficiency has saved the company more than $430 million since 2008. I am not certain what the ROI is on that number, but I presume that the company is satisfied with that return.

Of course, once one company moves towards sustainability, others are forced to follow suit or be deemed luddites.

Let’s remember that this article was in the business section and one has to applaud Unilever’s goal of recognizing that “It is essential that economic growth and natural resource use be decoupled,” Mr. Cramer of BSR said. “Simply replicating Western consumption patterns as they are today would require more natural resources than are available.”

Think Green Today
“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect." Chief Seattle, 1855